1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for preparing printed matter, and, more particularly to methods for preparing printed matter over the Internet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, personalized printed matter is obtained through an extended process of back-and-forth between a printer and an end user. This process is even more extensive when dealing with a large company having several to many facilities. In such organizations, there is commonly an individual or department assigned with the responsibility of procuring personalized business stationery (letterheads, note pads, etc.), business cards, and other personalized printed business-related matter, such as identification badges, passes, vouchers, etc. With reference to FIG. 1, as shown in Box 1, an end user (such as a new employee) who desires a printed product (specified by way of non-limiting example as a business card) fills out a paper order form with required information, and the paper order form is transmitted to the procurement individual/department (referred to as xe2x80x9ccentral officexe2x80x9d) by facsimile, inter-office mail, etc., as represented by Box 2. The procurement individual/department reviews the paper order form to ensure its completeness, and forwards the form to a contracted printer.
With reference to Box 3, in a common prior art arrangement, the printer manually typesets the information on the forwarded form using a page layout program, such the program sold under the mark xe2x80x9cQuarkXPressxe2x80x9d by Quark, Inc., and creates hard copy proofs of the desired printed matter. The proofs are then forwarded to the procurement individual/department (Box 4). The proofs may be reviewed by the procurement. individual/department, but are also often forwarded to the end user for review. If any corrections are required, such as to correct misspellings, typographical errors, and the like, the proofs are annotated accordingly, and the annotated proofs are forwarded to the procurement individual/department to repeat the process of Boxes 2-5. The sub-process of Boxes 2-5 is continuously repeated until the proofs are correct and approved.
As noted at Box 6, once the proofs are approved, the procurement individual/department notifies the printer, or forwards a copy of the approved order. Since the corrections to the proofs must be made in the page layout program, the files stored in the program should contain correct information, upon approval of the proofs. Printing plates are generated from the page layout program using techniques known in the prior art (Box 7), and the desired printed matter is printed using the printing plates (Box 8). Finally, the printed matter is forwarded to the end user (Box 9), often through the procurement individual/department.
As is readily apparent, the prior art method has several shortcomings. For instance, the repetitive process necessary to correct errors in the proofs (sub-process represented by Boxes 2-5) is often time-consuming and may take several days to weeks. Generally, three weeks are required to perform the entire process of FIG. 1. Additionally, the process necessary to correct errors relies on manual input, which is not fully accurate. Thus, all requested corrections may not be entered into a proof, necessitating further corrections and generation of proofs.
Furthermore, consistency in printed matter throughout an organization may not be obtained. For example, a business card of a first employee of an organization may include the full spelling of xe2x80x9cStreetxe2x80x9d, whereas, a second employee of the same organization may include the abbreviation xe2x80x9cSt.xe2x80x9d. Organization-wide consistency is often preferred in personalized printed matter to provide a more professional image of the organization. These problems are exasperated where national franchises are involved and each individual franchisee of a national franchiser prints printed matter. Often, the national franchiser wants control over the presentation of business cards, letterheads, etc. to ensure a desired image of the company is being maintained.
It is an object of the subject application to provide a method for preparing printed matter which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.
It is also an object of the subject invention to provide a method for preparing printed matter that may be used over the Internet.
The aforementioned objects are met by a method for preparing personalized printed matter which is well-suited for the Internet. The method can be used to produce personalized printed matter, including, but not limited to, business cards, letterheads, envelopes, note pads, identification badges, and vouchers.
In a first embodiment of the method, an account holder, such as a company, establishes an account and provides information for creating one or more templates. A template is created for each type of printed matter that the account holder desires to have printed. Thus, for a company desiring personalized business cards, letterheads and note pads, three templates would be required. Each template sets forth the layout of the printed matter (location of business name, logo, employee""s name on printed matter, etc.) as well as the desired type(s) (e.g. type of font, font size). Further, each template includes fixed information set forth by the account holder and data fields. The fixed information can only be altered by the account holder, whereas, the data fields require information to be inputted. With the templates having been created, a data collection template is generated which contains input fields corresponding to all of the data fields located in the templates, without duplication. For example, where all three templates require the first name and last name of an employee and the template for the letterhead has a data field for a user""s email address, the resulting data collection template contains single input fields for the first name, last name and e-mail address of the user. Once generated, access to the data collection template is granted to a user who requires personalized printed matter (typically an employee of the account holder). The user enters personal information required in the input fields, and the collected information is entered into the corresponding data fields of the templates. Preferably, the account holder is allowed to specify formatting parameters of the user information when entered in the data fields of the templates. In this manner, an account holder can ensure consistency in generated personalized printed matter. Moreover, this consistency is achieved without requiring independent reviews of the printed matter of the various users.
The inputted information is merged with the data of the templates to form completed templates. Preferably, the user is instantaneously provided a viewable proof based on the completed template. If verified, the user approves and an order is placed. The completed templates are used to generate printing plates, to be used for printing using techniques known by those skilled in the art, and/or to transmit data to a digital printing system. The printed matter is then printed and forwarded to the user in accordance with the order.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the account holder and the user are a single entity. Here, an entity personally selects the layout and the type of a desired type of printed matter, and a template is generated. Preferably, a viewable proof is instantaneously formed for review, and, upon approval of the viewable proof, the printed matter is produced. The template here only contains fixed information provided by the entity, and data fields are not necessary. The template may be such that personal information is not required (e.g. a letterhead only containing a logo), or, alternatively, the template may include information personal to the entity which does not require further inputting (e.g. a general corporate letterhead; a sole proprietorship""s letterhead). To facilitate future changesxe2x80x94not necessarily corrections, but changes to name, marital status, addressxe2x80x94and/or re-orders, the template is saved. The template is used to produce the printed matter using techniques known to those skilled in the art.
Both the first and second embodiments are well-suited for use over the Internet. With both embodiments, templates can be created and instantly verified by an account holder prior to transmitting the template over the Internet for access by the printer. Additionally, a user of the first embodiment can access the data collection template over the Internet and enter information into the data collection template from a computer terminal remote from the account holder""s computer terminal and/or the printer""s terminal. The user is also able to verify the information prior to transmission. The method of the subject invention advantageously eliminates the back-and-forth process of the prior art. It is to be understood that the methods described herein are not limited to use over the Internet and can be used over any computer network.
The inventions described herein will be better understood through a study of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.